So what’s been gnawing at us? We need to find out about what’s going on at ABC since “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” signed off. Because WPVI-TV has been the consistent leader in daytime, we wanted to see how these changes have affected Philly TV viewership.
Let’s refresh everyone’s memory. Due to high production costs, and claiming a shift in viewer preferences towards “lifestyles” programming, ABC made the decision to cancel long-running soaps “All My Children” (AMC) in September and “One Live to Live” (OLTL), this past January. Replacements were food-focused “The Chew” airing Monday-Friday 1-2PM, and health and life-improvement focused “The Revolution” at 2-3PM.
The Update? Good and bad news. “The Chew” is chomping happily, while “The Revolution” seems to be losing in the ratings battle. In fact, “The Chew’s” ratings have almost doubled, delivering an average 1.3 Women 18-49 rating on WPVI (January –March 2012) compared to a .7 average rating for AMC during the same months in 2011. However, “The Revolution” is not keeping pace with OLTL viewers and ratings are down 22%.
ABC is planning more menu changes come September, with the addition of Katie Couric’s talk show “Katie” slated to air in “General Hospital’s” 3PM slot (looks like GH may be chopped?). However, TV Guide reports that Couric is concerned about a poor lead-in from “The Revolution” and a potential negative fall-out by viewers attributing her new show with a GH cancellation (if it should occur). So for now the “Katie” time slot is still up in the air.
Our suggestion? Revoke “The Revolution”, shift GH to 2PM, and put “Katie” at 3PM. That serves up a palatable spread, don’t you think?